Kindred Restaurant, Darlington

Everything from the sourdough to the cultured butter and of course the pasta is made in-house at Darlington newcomer Kindred. There’s a long list on the back of the menu outlining what they make (it’s impressive! Whether it’s vincotto or yoghurt, they make it from scratch).

We kick off dinner with the sweet potato triangoli. The four delicious triangles of silky pasta are doused in burnt butter, goats cheese, and hazelnut. It tastes just like it sounds: sweet, salty, buttery, and nutty.

From the larger pasta dishes, I have my eye on the pappardelle, beef ragu, seasonal greens. It’s rich and saucy, but I especially like how the greens cut through with a bit of vegetal freshness. For even more freshness we order the radicchio, fennel, tomato, and cucumber salad, which is generous and well-dressed.

Desserts are much larger than we anticipated, so sharing one between the two of us would have sufficed. Regardless, the warm chocolate fondant with rhubarb jam and vanilla gelato is a chocoholic’s dream. But my palate always craves fruity desserts. I’m much more enamored by my pick: a large bowl of meringue, strawberries, cream, shortbread, and raspberry sorbet. There’s something so perfect about berries and cream imho.

PS. Kindred’s pasta is worthy of an entry into my Best Pasta in Sydney round-up (check it out here). I’m making a beeline for the delicious sounding ricotta & chard ravioli next time.